Casting an Upward Shadow

In this beautiful sunrise we see the shadow of Mt. Rainier being cast upward to the sky and clouds above. The photograph was taken by Redditor PCloadletter26 who says it was the last sunrise of 2012.

The view is from Tacoma, Washington USA. During Autumn and Winter, the sun rises farther to the south around winter solstice and Mt Rainier can block the first rays of the morning, casting the brilliant shadow you see above.

Mount Rainier is a stratovolcano located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States with a summit elevation of 14,411 ft (4,392 m).

Tacoma is on Washington’s Puget Sound, 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Seattle. The population was 198,397, according to the 2010 census. Tacoma adopted its name after the nearby Mount Rainier, originally called Mount Tahoma. It is known as the “City of Destiny” because the area was chosen to be the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the late 19th century. [Source: Wikipedia]